Karl Gall (motorcycle racer)
Encyclopedia
Karl Gall was an Austrian
motorcycle racer with the works BMW
motor-cycle team and a former German national motor-cycle champion.
from 1929 to 1933 and from 1936 onwards Karl Gall returned to BMW to develop the 500c BMW Type 255 Kompressor racing motor-cycle. In 1937, Karl Gall won the 500cc class at the Dutch TT at the Circuit van Drenthe, Assen and the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring
in which the works Norton rider Jimmie Guthrie
died in a racing accident. Riding the BMW Type 255 Kompressor, Karl Garl also won the 1937 German National Championship.
For the 1938 Isle of Man TT
, Karl Gall was entered by the BMW team along with Jock West
and Georg Meier
. First the BMW team suffered a setback when Karl Gall was badly injured in an unofficial practice crash and was found unconscious in a ditch above the Gooseneck
and was unable to race due to head injuries and a broken arm. On the startline for the 1938 Senior TT
Race, one of the BMW mechanics changing a spark-plug stripped a cylinder thread on the engine of Georg Meier's BMW Type 255 Kompressor motor-cycle. Despite starting the 1938 Senior TT Race on one-cylinder, Georg Meier retired on lap 1 at the bottom of Bray Hill
leaving the works Norton rider Harold Daniell
to win the race.
During practice for the 1939 Isle of Man TT
on the 2nd June 1939, Karl Gall crashed on the first lap of evening practice while trying to overtake the works Norton rider Freddie Frith
on the approach to Ballaugh Bridge
. After being conveyed by ambulance to Ramsey Cottage Hospital due to severe head injuries, Karl Gall died on the 13th June 1939 due to his injuries and the effects of pneumonia
in hospital. After considering to withdraw from the Isle of Man TT Races, the BMW management decided that Georg Meier and Jock West would compete in the 1939 Senior TT Race and Georg Meier led from start to finish winning at an average race speed of 89.38 mph and Jock West finished in second place.
At Ballaugh Bridge
on the Snaefell Mountain Course
a nearby road-side memorial commemorates the racing career of the BMW motor-cycle rider Karl Gall.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
motorcycle racer with the works BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
motor-cycle team and a former German national motor-cycle champion.
Biography
Along with his two brothers Franz and Adolf, as youngest of three racing brothers, Karl Gall began his motor-cycle racing career in 1924 in Austria. A serious accident at the 1930 German Grand Prix, Karl Gall suffered a serious fracture to the hand which prevented him from racing. First as a contracted works BMW rider from 1927, then contracted to Standard Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH motor-cycles company of LudwigsburgLudwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
from 1929 to 1933 and from 1936 onwards Karl Gall returned to BMW to develop the 500c BMW Type 255 Kompressor racing motor-cycle. In 1937, Karl Gall won the 500cc class at the Dutch TT at the Circuit van Drenthe, Assen and the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring
Sachsenring
The Sachsenring racing circuit is located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship.- History :...
in which the works Norton rider Jimmie Guthrie
Jimmie Guthrie
Andrew James "Jimmie" Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer famous for 19 motorcycle Grand Prix wins and 3 victories in the North West 200 and 6 wins at the Isle of Man TT Races in his career.-Biography:...
died in a racing accident. Riding the BMW Type 255 Kompressor, Karl Garl also won the 1937 German National Championship.
For the 1938 Isle of Man TT
1938 Isle of Man TT
The 1938 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw the Senior TT lap record of 90.27 mph set by Freddie Frith the previous year broken in 1938 when Harold Daniell completed a lap at 91.00 mph on his Norton, a record which would stand for 12 years. He managed to win, beating Stanley Woods by only...
, Karl Gall was entered by the BMW team along with Jock West
Jock West
John Milns "Jock" West, MBE was a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Great Britain.-Motorcycle career:West was born in Belvedere, Kent to an English father and a Scottish mother. He initially concentrated on grasstrack racing on an Ariel motorcycle and, was successful enough that the Ariel factory...
and Georg Meier
Georg Meier
Georg Meier was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races in 1939 riding for the factory BMW team and the first motor-cycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100mph.-Biography:Meier was...
. First the BMW team suffered a setback when Karl Gall was badly injured in an unofficial practice crash and was found unconscious in a ditch above the Gooseneck
Gooseneck
The gooseneck is the swivel connection on a sailboat by which the boom attaches to the mast. The boom moves from side to side and up and down by swiveling on the gooseneck....
and was unable to race due to head injuries and a broken arm. On the startline for the 1938 Senior TT
Senior TT
The Senior Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. The Senior TT is the Blue Riband event of the festival and takes place on the Friday of race week. The Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars...
Race, one of the BMW mechanics changing a spark-plug stripped a cylinder thread on the engine of Georg Meier's BMW Type 255 Kompressor motor-cycle. Despite starting the 1938 Senior TT Race on one-cylinder, Georg Meier retired on lap 1 at the bottom of Bray Hill
Bray Hill
Bray Hill formerly a country lane known as the Great Hill during the time of the ownership of the Duke of Atholl. Previously known as Siberia a former triangle shaped parcel of land in the Murray Estate...
leaving the works Norton rider Harold Daniell
Harold Daniell
Harold Daniell was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1940s and 1950s...
to win the race.
During practice for the 1939 Isle of Man TT
1939 Isle of Man TT
The 1939 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the last race festival until 1947 due to the interruption of World War II. It was the last of ten TT victories for the 34 year old Stanley Woods in which he won the Junior TT on a Velocette at 83.19 mph and came 4th in the Senior TT race...
on the 2nd June 1939, Karl Gall crashed on the first lap of evening practice while trying to overtake the works Norton rider Freddie Frith
Freddie Frith
Frederick Lee "Freddie" Frith OBE was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion. A former stonemason and motor-trader dealer was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT...
on the approach to Ballaugh Bridge
Ballaugh Bridge
Ballaugh Bridge is situated between the 17th Milestone and 18th Milestone road-side markers on the Snaefell Mountain Course in Ballaugh Village on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey and the road junction with the A10 Ballaugh to Ramsey Coast Road and the tertiary C37 Ballaugh Glen Road in the...
. After being conveyed by ambulance to Ramsey Cottage Hospital due to severe head injuries, Karl Gall died on the 13th June 1939 due to his injuries and the effects of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in hospital. After considering to withdraw from the Isle of Man TT Races, the BMW management decided that Georg Meier and Jock West would compete in the 1939 Senior TT Race and Georg Meier led from start to finish winning at an average race speed of 89.38 mph and Jock West finished in second place.
At Ballaugh Bridge
Ballaugh Bridge
Ballaugh Bridge is situated between the 17th Milestone and 18th Milestone road-side markers on the Snaefell Mountain Course in Ballaugh Village on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey and the road junction with the A10 Ballaugh to Ramsey Coast Road and the tertiary C37 Ballaugh Glen Road in the...
on the Snaefell Mountain Course
Snaefell mountain course
Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course is a road-racing circuit used for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix Races held in the Isle of Man from 1911 and 1923 respectively. The racing is held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald...
a nearby road-side memorial commemorates the racing career of the BMW motor-cycle rider Karl Gall.